I Will Not Fall

Already at a young age is Arabella forced to grow up and take care of herself. She manages to live by herself thanks to her friends. But what happens when her apartment gets water damage and she is forced to move in with Peter and his nephews. How will she deal with the knowledge of the family’s secrets and their past? I Will Not Fall is a story about friendship, love, family and growing up. It follows how Arabella and her best friends Rose, Roxann and Joey cope with the everyday life of a teenager and all its problems.

6. The shocking meeting

It was Roxann that woke Arabella up later on Saturday morning. “Time to wake up sleepyhead. Rose and Joey will be here in an hour and it might be smart go eat a little breakfast before they come” Arabella sat up and stretched out her body. Roxann was already finished changing clothes. She was wearing a cute top that she had sewed and a pair of worn out jeans. Together it looked really good and modern. She had put her long red hair in a ponytail and had her cocky smile already in place. “Come on, if Peter sees you like that, you might scare him so much that he won’t allow you to live here anymore” she grinned teasing at Arabella. Arabella didn’t understand what she meant at first, but as soon as she saw herself in the mirror she knew exactly what she meant. Her hair was in a mess and all over the place, her eyes were tired and dull, and she was very pale. She looked miserable to be more precise. She went to the bathroom, washed her face with cold water, brushed out all the tangled in her hair and went back to put on some clothes. She changed into a green t-shirt and a pair of suspenders pants. When she was finished, she and Roxann went down to the kitchen and ate breakfast with Peter. He told them that he had to go to the hospital for a while and take care of a patient, a child who had cancer that would make a laser treatment today. Hopefully the treatment would help the little girl get rid of her cancer. Peter was very happy and excited when he left and Arabella hoped more than anything that he would be just as happy when he came back again.

Shortly after Peter had left, Rose and Joey arrived. They had a tour around the house like the one Arabella and Roxann had the day before with an ending in the room that Arabella and Roxann had slept in. They all sat down and talked for a long time about everything possible and even Rose fell for the photo of the brothers. When she saw how handsome Peter was on the photo could she barely contain herself until he came back so that she could meet him in person. They went down to the kitchen and started cooking as they thought that after working on a Saturday and for allowing Arabella to stay at his place, Peter deserved a good dinner made by the youngsters. It was Joey who stood for the actual cooking for the most part. The girls helped with chopping and stuff but the hard and important part was left for Joey to do. Him mom and dad worked a lot so it was often Joey who cooked back home to all his siblings. He was the second oldest among the siblings but his older sister, Tiffany spend her time in her own little world and let Joey take all the responsibility. But he enjoys being in the kitchen and is a really good cook. He is a natural talent if you may say so. They were finished with the food just in time for Peter coming home. He was very glad that they had cooked for him. “Didn’t you say yesterday that you are completely useless in the kitchen Arabella? I must say I disagree with you. This was among the most delicious thing I have ever eaten” Peter said between bites of food. “I did and a meant is as well. I’m not the one who made the food. All credit goes to Joey, the rest of us just helped him with the little things” Arabella replied. She saw in the corner of her eye how Joey got a little red in his face, but it quickly disappeared. “You’re very talented young man, I must say. Not many people can make food this good” “Oh now you exaggerate” Joey replied to Peters praise. “I’m not that good” “Don’t be shy now. You’re doing great and it’s something that you should be proud of. Have you ever thought about becoming a chef in the future?” “Thank you so much. Yes, I have. It’s a little dream of mine to become a chef” “I know a guy that has opened his own restaurant recently. He could certainly use some extra help now and then. I can talk to him and recommend you if you want to” You could see in Peter’s face that he meant every word and Joey lit up like the sun itself. “You mean it?! That would be awesome. I could work on weekends and on holidays and a few days during the week. That would be so kind of you if you did that. No offense Arabella, but right now I’m glad that your apartment was destroyed so that we met Peter” Peter smiled at Joeys comment. “I’ll see him tomorrow in any case so I can bring it up then. He will be very glad to get some help I’m sure. His name is Phillip and right now it’s just him and my nephew Jordan who works there so they would need all the help they can get” “Is Jordan the one who lived here? Arabella asked curiously. “No, he lives in an apartment in town. As I told you before, Jules has two children, Jordan and Seth. Jordan is the oldest one. Elliot has one kid, William, and he’s the one who lives here” Arabella’s food stuck in her throat when she heard Will’s name and started coughing her lounges out. She coughed so much so that either she or anyone else heard the front door open and close, how someone said something and the steps that led to the kitchen. It wasn’t until Arabella stopped coughing as she looked up again from her plate. Her eyes were a little wet, the way they becomes when you coughing for your dear life. With a blurry view, she looked toward the vault that led into the kitchen as everybody else was doing. In the vault stood will and his look told her that he was as shocked as she was.